Georgetown Raiders Diminutive Forward Chasing OJHL Scoring Title

Though he’s one of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s smallest players,
Jack Jacome has managed to put up some big numbers this season.

In fact, the Georgetown Raiders right winger, who is 5-foot-7 and weighs
160 pounds, now has to be considered the favourite to win the OJHL
scoring crown.

Jacome entered the week sharing top spot in the scoring race with
Wellington Dukes forward Brayden Stortz. Both players had racked up 89
points apiece so far this season.

Stortz and the Dukes have just one regular season match remaining, at home Friday versus the Whitby Fury.

Jacome, however, has two games left to add to his total. The Raiders
will hit the road and square off against the host Burlington Cougars on
Friday.

And if he does not earn more points than Stortz does on Friday, then
Jacome will have the luxury of knowing exactly what he has to do on
Saturday in the Raiders’ final regular season contest, at home against
the Mississauga Chargers.

Jacome said winning the OJHL scoring title would be a huge accomplishment for him.

“It would be pretty special,” he said. “I’ve worked really hard. And I’ve prided myself on my work ethic.”

Jacome’s trophy case already includes some OJHL hardware. A year ago, he
was named the league’s top rookie after accumulating 67 points,
including 23 goals, in 54 regular season matches.

Representatives of the Clarkson Golden Knights were impressed enough
with Jacome’s skills and offered him a full Division 1 scholarship last
February. He’ll be joining the New York-based university squad starting
with the 2018-19 season.

But not everything has gone Jacome’s way this season. He admits he was
rather disappointed not to be included in a pair of Canadian Junior
Hockey League showcase events.

For starters, he didn’t even receive an invitation to attend the
training camp for the Canada East squad that participated at the World
Junior A Challenge in December in Bonnyville, Alta.

And Jacome was also not one of the 40 players chosen to compete in the CJHL Prospects Game, staged in Cornwall in late January.

Jacome said he’s not certain whether decision makers for those squads were turned off by his small stature.

“I try not to think about excuses too much,” he said. “At the end of the
day, they had an idea of what team they wanted and it didn’t include
me. It was tough but I have to respect that.”

Jacome prefers to focus on things he can control to some extent.

For the immediate future, he’ll focus on helping his squad win its final
two regular season contests and in the process, perhaps win the
league’s scoring title himself.

And then he’d love to help the Raiders, considered one of the postseason favourites, capture the OJHL championship.

“There’s nothing I want more than that,” Jacome said. “I have never won a
league championship. Every year you get hungrier to win one.”

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